The characteristics of Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners

 Some words have more than

acid¹ / / noun **

one entry because they belong

1[С/U] a chemical substance with

to a different word class al

a PH value (= a measure used in chem-

although they are spelt the same.

istry) of less than 7: hydrochloric acid

The small number at the end of

– compare ALKALI

the headword tells you that

2 [U] informal the illegal drug LSD

there’s more than one entry for

this word.

acid² / / adj 1 very sour:

ACIDIC: Add more sugar if it tastes

too acid. 2 containing acid or consist

ing of an acid: ACIDIC: These plants

prefer an acid soil. 3 an acid remark

or acid humour shows criticism in a

way that is clever but cruel: ACERBIC.

 Compound words are separate

'acidֽhouse noun [U] a style of

entries in the alphabetical list.

HOUSE music that developed in the

US in the mid-1980s and became very

popular in the UK in the late 1980s

where it was played at RAVE parties

 Some words are shown at the

acidify / / verb [I/T] to be -

end of the entry for the word

come an acid, or cause a substance to

from which they are derived.

become an acid – acidification

/ / noun [U]

 Some words are used in idioms

bat your eyes/eyelashes to open and

or other fixed expressions.

close your eyes very quickly several

These expressions are shown at

times, intending to be attractive to

the end of the main entry.

someone

go to bat for smb mainly Am E in -

formal to give someone your support

and help

not bat an eyelid to not be shocked,

worried, or upset by something

 Phrasal verbs are shown after

bat a'round phrasal vb [T] to dis -

the entry for the main verb.

cuss ideas or plans in an informal way

 Many words have more than

dolly / / noun [C] 1 informal a

one meaning. When meanings

DOLL 2 a flat structure with wheels

are very different, they are

for moving heavy loads or for sup -

shown as separate senses with

porting a film camera → CORN

numbers.

DOLLY

 Some words have many differ -

bleed / / ( past tense and past par -

ent meanings, and so the en -

ticiple bled / / ) verb *

tries can be long. Entries with

1 when blood flows out

five or more meanings have a

2 make smb pay money

‘menu’ at the top.

3 when colour spreads

4 take liquid/ gas from smth

5 take blood from smb

 The International Phonetic Al -

commerce / / noun [U] **

phabet shows how a word is

the activity of buying and selling

pronounced.

goods and services: TRADE: the needs

of industry and commerce

 When British and American pro -

basil / ; Am E / noun [U]

nunciations are very different,

a plant whose sweet leaves are used in

 both are given.

salads and cooking, especially in

dishes containing tomato. Basil is a

herb.

 Stress marks tell us which part

'cabin ֽcrew noun [C] the people on a

of a compound to stress when we

plane whose job is to look after the pas -

 are saying it.

sengers

 Irregular inflections are shown.

do¹ / / (3^rd person singular does / weak

 ; strong /; past tense

did / /; past participle done / /

verb ***

 Some words are printed in red

convince / / verb [T] ***

with a star rating to show their

1 to make someone believe that some -

frequency. For example, a word

thing is true

with one star is fairly common

and a word with three stars is one

blank¹ / / adj **

of the most basic words in Eng -

1 blank paper or a blank space is empty

lish.

and contains

embarrass / / verb [T] *

1 to make someone feel nervous,

ashamed, or stupid

 Italic words (called ‘labels’) show

bus¹ / / noun [C] ***

which part of the English-speaking

1 a large road vehicle with a lot of seats

world is used in, or tell us whether

that you pay to travel on, especially one

it is used in informal contexts,

that takes you fairly short distances and

 specialized contexts etc.

stops frequently: by bus The children go

to school by bus. miss the bus If we

don’t leave soon, we’ll miss the last bus.

1a mainly Am E A COACH

2 computing a set of wires that send in

formation from one part of a computer

system to another

 Sometimes a word that is used

aubergine / / noun [C/U] Br

only in British English has an ex -

E a vegetable with a smooth dark purple

act equivalent in American Eng -

skin and white flesh. Am E eggplant

lish. These equivalents are shown

 at the end of a definition.

 Example sentences in italic

basis / / (plural bases / /)

show us how a word is used in

noun [C] ***

context.

1 a particular method or system for doing

or organizing something: on a … basis

workers who are employed on a seasonal

or temporary basis.

Information about collocation -

on the basis of smth Don’t make your

how words combine and which

decision on the basis of cost alone.

structures can be used with a word.

 When a word has many collocations,

Words frequently used with basis

these are shown in a box at the end

verbs: constitute, create, establish, form,

of the entry.

lay, provide, serve as

 There's information about the use

Both above and over can be used to

of a word in practice.

mean ‘at a higher level than something’:

the light above/over the door.

Use above when something is not di -

rectly over something else: on the hillside

above the river.

Use over when something moves or

stretches across the space above some -

thing: flying over London, the bridge

over the river.

 There're hints which help us to avoid

If you take something that someone of -

common errors.

fers you or if you allow something to

happen, you accept it: We accepted her

offer of help.

If you say that you are willing to do

something, you agree to do it: She

agreed to work at the weekend.

You accept something, but you agree to

do something.

 There're notes that tell us about the

Cinderella / / noun [C

origin of a word.

usually singular]

1 someone or something that has good

qualities but is treated badly or ignored:

Primary education has long been the

Cinderella of the education service.

Cinderella is the main character in a fa -

mous children’s story. She is a poor girl,

badly treated by her stepsisters but, in the

end, thanks to the power of magic, she is

able to marry the rich attractive Prince

Charming.

 There're definitions which introduce

address¹ / / noun [C] ***

us to related words.

1 the name of the place where you live

or work, including the house or office

number and the name of the street, area,

and town. It may also include a set of

numbers and letters, called a postcode in

British English and a zip code in Ameri -

can English.

 Sometimes the opposite of a word

obedient / / adj *doing what a

 is shown.

person, law, or rule says you must do:

The children stood in a little group, dis -

ciplined and obedient. – opposite

DISOBEDIENT

Some definitions give us synonyms.

booking / / noun [C] **

1 an arrangement to buy a travel ticket,

stay in a hotel room etc at a later date:

RESERVATION: Holiday bookings are up

20% on last year.